U.S. patent application number 14/146586 was filed with the patent office on 2014-07-10 for duct system and method.
This patent application is currently assigned to Dura-Line Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is Dura-Line Corporation. Invention is credited to Timothy A. Grimsley, Thomas McCall.
Application Number | 20140191844 14/146586 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51060534 |
Filed Date | 2014-07-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140191844 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Grimsley; Timothy A. ; et
al. |
July 10, 2014 |
DUCT SYSTEM AND METHOD
Abstract
The present inventive concept includes a duct system and method
for using same to map and locate ducts. A preferred embodiment of
the duct system includes a duct, a plurality of electronic
information modules and an oversheath at least partially covering
the plurality of information modules and fixing the information
modules to the duct. The plurality of information modules are
configured to emit a positional signal to enable location of the
information modules and associated duct(s) and/or mapping of the
duct system.
Inventors: |
Grimsley; Timothy A.;
(Knoxville, TN) ; McCall; Thomas; (Knoxville,
TN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Dura-Line Corporation |
Knoxville |
TN |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Dura-Line Corporation
Knoxville
TN
|
Family ID: |
51060534 |
Appl. No.: |
14/146586 |
Filed: |
January 2, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61750103 |
Jan 8, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
340/8.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01V 15/00 20130101;
G01S 5/0226 20130101; G01S 1/047 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
340/8.1 |
International
Class: |
G01S 1/04 20060101
G01S001/04 |
Claims
1. A duct system comprising: a duct; at least one information
module configured to emit a positional signal; and an oversheath at
least partially covering the at least one information module and
fixing the at least one information module to the duct.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one information
module is configured to emit a duct properties signal relating to
at least one of i) the condition of the duct, and ii) the contents
of the duct.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one information
module includes five information modules arranged in a network and
a first information module of the five information modules is
within positional signal range of the other of the five information
modules.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the five information modules are
configured to bypass a malfunctioning information module to pass
signal information.
5. A method of mapping a duct system, the steps of the method
comprising: providing at least one information module fixed to a
duct and configured to emit a positional signal; receiving a
positional signal from the at least one information module; and
plotting the positional signal on at least two axes.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one information
module is configured to emit a duct properties signal relating to
at least one of i) the condition of the duct, and ii) the contents
of the duct, and further comprising the step of receiving, via the
receiver, the duct properties signal.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one information
module is configured to include a receiver and the step of
receiving a positional signal is performed by the receiver.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the steps of: passing
the positional signal from a first information module to a second
information module of the at least one information module, and
emitting from the second information module the positional signal
of the first information module and the second information
module.
9. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of
associating the duct properties signal information with the
positional signal information.
10. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one information
module is fixed to the duct using an oversheath.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This Patent Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Ser. No. 61/750,103 titled Information Module
Housing Apparatus and Method, and filed Jan. 8, 2013, the contents
of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] This present inventive concept relates generally to the
field of conduit or duct systems for use in residential,
commercial, industrial and other applications and, in particular,
to a duct system including electronic information modules and
methods for improved information gathering and mapping.
[0004] 2. Discussion of Related Art
[0005] Ducts are essential to a wide variety of structures
including residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental
structures. For example, they may carry water, house fiber optic
cables or other communications or power lines, or participate in
critical pneumatic systems aboard vehicles. Ducts often experience
high volumes of throughput, frequent changes in positioning,
connectivity or conducted materials, or other conditions or changes
that require them to be locatable for maintenance and other
activities to be performed.
[0006] Existing duct systems are not designed so that individual
duct lines can be located with ease and accuracy, particularly in
applications where the lines are obscured from sight by
obstructions such as soil in which such lines are buried. As such,
significant expenses may be incurred in attempts to locate ducts,
or in correcting work done based on erroneous information provided
by or about existing duct systems. One existing method of locating
a duct requires burying or otherwise placing a "tracer" or similar
wire alongside the duct, for example during construction. Even
though in certain applications the tracer wire may be attached to
the duct before the duct is placed, there are several sources of
potential error in using this method. These include the possibility
that the positioning of the tracer wire on the duct will be
disturbed during placement, or that the means for locating the
tracer wire may hit on other metal objects and thus provide false
positives for the location of the duct.
[0007] Further, in many existing systems, there remains the
possibility that the tracer wire or similar device will become
disassociated from the duct or otherwise damaged during or after
the construction process, thus preventing accurate location of the
duct. Such systems often have no economical way to provide
redundancy in functionality, and failure of a tracer wire at any
given location may cause failure of the entire location mechanism.
Finally, there is no existing method for identifying individual,
obscured duct sections or for obtaining similar specific
information regarding the duct system's location and state.
[0008] The present inventive concept provides an improved duct
system and a method for using same for mapping and location
purposes.
SUMMARY
[0009] The following brief description is provided to indicate the
nature of the subject matter disclosed herein. While certain
aspects of the present inventive concept are described below, the
summary is not intended to limit the scope of the present inventive
concept. Embodiments of the present inventive concept provide an
electronic module housing apparatus and method for attachment to a
duct.
[0010] The present inventive concept provides, in its simplest
form, a duct system including a duct, at least one information
module and an oversheath at least partially covering the
information module and fixing the information module to the duct.
The information module emits at least a positional signal
permitting location of the information module based on the
information in the positional signal alone or in combination with
other information. The information module may also emit a duct
properties signal regarding the condition of the duct and/or its
contents. The duct system may be designed such that each
information module is within range of more than two other
information modules, thus providing redundancy in systems where
signals are exchanged between information modules in a "network",
and allowing for continued routing of signal information along such
a network of information modules even where one information module
is malfunctioning or inoperable. Such a network may simply bypass
the malfunctioning or inoperable information module and pass signal
information over it to the next functioning module.
[0011] A method of using the duct system for mapping and/or
location efforts is also disclosed herein. The steps of the method
include providing at least one information module fixed to a duct
that is configured to emit a positional signal, receiving, via a
receiver, the positional signal from the information module, and
plotting the positional signal from the information module on at
least two axes.
[0012] The information module may further be configured to emit a
duct properties signal relating to at least one of i) the condition
of the duct, and ii) the contents of the duct, and the method may
further include the step of receiving, via the receiver, the duct
properties signal. The duct properties signal information may be
used separately or following correlation with the positional signal
information. The information contained in signals may ultimately
pass from the information module to a user or computer system
configured to process and/or plot such information.
[0013] Additional aspects, advantages, and utilities of the present
invention will be set forth in part in the description which
follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may
be learned by practice of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] Embodiments of the present inventive concept are described
in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures,
wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 is an enlarged front cross sectional perspective of
the embodiment of FIG. 2 illustrating an information module
attached to a duct using an oversheath.
[0016] FIG. 2 is a side view of a duct system according to an
embodiment of the present inventive concept including multiple
information modules secured along the length of a duct by an
oversheath.
[0017] The drawing figures do not limit the present inventive
concept to the specific embodiments disclosed and described herein.
The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being
placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present
inventive concept.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] The following detailed description of the invention
references the accompanying drawings that illustrate specific
embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. The
embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the invention in
sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice
the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and changes can be
made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The
following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a
limiting sense. The scope of the present invention is defined only
by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to
which such claims are entitled.
[0019] In this description, references to "one embodiment", "an
embodiment", or "embodiments" mean that the feature or features
being referred to are included in at least one embodiment of the
technology. Separate references to "one embodiment", "an
embodiment", or "embodiments" in this description do not
necessarily refer to the same embodiment and are also not mutually
exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will be readily
apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. For
example, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one
embodiment may also be included in other embodiments, but is not
necessarily included. Thus, the present technology can include a
variety of combinations and/or integrations of the embodiments
described herein.
[0020] Turning to FIG. 1, a single electronic information module 10
is illustrated from a front cross sectional perspective at line 1
of the embodiment of FIG. 2. The information module 10 is fixed to
an exterior surface of a duct 12 using an oversheath 14. The
information module 10 abuts the exterior surface of the duct 12 but
is not embedded in the duct 12, thus preserving the structural
integrity of the duct 12. The methods of installing information
modules onto a duct or series of ducts of the present inventive
concept may vary. In the preferred installation method, information
modules are attached to the exterior of the duct at desired
increments along its length using an adhesive or heat treatment.
This assembly is processed through a die that applies an oversheath
around the duct and information module assembly.
[0021] Though the material and thickness used for an oversheath may
vary, the oversheath is preferably composed primarily of plastic
such as a polyethylene plastic and is anywhere between 0.5-0.7'' in
thickness. Such thickness may be decreased for improved signal
strength or smaller effective bulk of the duct, or increased to
improve durability, e.g., in rough or rockier terrains. The
oversheath may be heated prior to application to the information
module and duct assembly to increase elasticity. Once applied to
the assembly, the oversheath may be allowed to cool and constrict,
thereby securing the information modules against the exterior of
the duct.
[0022] Returning to FIG. 1, the information module 10 and duct 12
are surrounded by an oversheath 14 that wraps around a substantial
portion of the exterior of the duct 12. On a portion of the duct's
12 surface that faces the information module 10, the oversheath 14
raises off from the exterior of the duct 12 to wrap around the
exterior of the information module 10 and fix the information
module 10 to the duct 12. In embodiments where the oversheath does
not settle flush against the exterior of the duct and information
module at the point where they interface, like in FIG. 1, pockets
may form and provide additional benefits in the system, for example
by providing space through which air or other fluids may flow to
enhance cooling of the information modules. In other embodiments,
the oversheath may contact an even greater proportion of the
exterior of the duct, for example in embodiments where the
oversheath is composed at least partially of heated plastic which
is allowed to settle along the contours of the information module
during construction of the apparatus, and which thereafter cools to
secure the information module against the duct.
[0023] Turning now to FIG. 2, a duct system of an embodiment of the
present inventive concept is shown from a side perspective. The
system includes multiple information modules 10 spaced linearly
along the length of a duct 12. The upper and lower extremities of
the duct 12 are illustrated using broken lines in FIG. 2. An
oversheath 14 wraps around the exteriors of the information modules
10 and duct 12, and secures the information modules 10 to the
exterior of the duct 12. Depending on the conditions during
installation in various embodiments, including the incremental
spacing of the information modules along the duct, the thickness of
the information modules, and other factors, this method of
installing the information module housing apparatus onto a duct
will produce troughs between the information modules, such as the
troughs 16 illustrated in FIG. 2. The troughs 16 may be utilized in
handling the duct 12 during installation, and may contribute to the
electromagnetic characteristics of the assembled duct system, such
as those characteristics that are detected as part of the
transmission of signals from the information module to a receiver.
Further, though the embodiment of FIG. 2 is illustrated with
information modules 10 arranged linearly along the exterior of the
duct 12, it is foreseen that the information modules 10 may be
alternatively placed along the outer surface of the duct 12, for
example in a non-patterned fashion at different points on the
circumference of the duct, without departing from the spirit of the
present inventive concept.
[0024] The information modules may transmit or emit information in
signals such as radio transmissions, electronic currents through
wires, or through other known means, and may do so actively on an
intermittent or continuous basis or passively, for example in
response to interrogation by a receiver. A "receiver" is a means
for collecting signals from the information modules of the system
of the present inventive concept, and may be integrated within one
or more information modules or may be separate devices configured
for receipt of the signals. A signal "range" refers to the maximum
effective distance between a receiver and an information module
within which the receiver is capable of receiving a signal from the
information module, and depends on a number of factors such as
signal strength, sophistication of the receiver, and number and
type of interceding obstructions. The receiver may transmit signals
obtained from the information modules to a user or to a separate
piece of equipment, and may optionally perform further processing
on the signals prior to any such transmission.
[0025] An "information module" is electronic and emits a positional
signal that includes at least one of information i) that enables
location of the information module with respect to another object,
e.g., the receiver, on at least two axes, ii) regarding the
coordinates of the information module on at least two axes, and
iii) associated with the particular duct section to which the
information module is fixed. Any or all of the foregoing items of
information may be used for locating and/or mapping a duct system.
In a preferred embodiment, a handheld receiver may be passed within
the range of signal detection for the information modules of the
duct system and will collect at least one of the foregoing types of
information. Depending on the scope of the location or mapping
needed, a user may then use the positional signals collected
through the receiver to locate a particular duct section, or map an
entire duct system. In certain embodiments, this may require
processing the positional signals with other information, for
example regarding relative position of another object, such as the
receiver itself.
[0026] A receiver may also be integrated into one or more of the
information modules, permitting positional signals to be exchanged
between the information modules themselves in a network, for
example to enable the calculation of relative positions amongst the
information modules of the duct system. This embodiment may further
provide for collection of positional signal information from the
entire duct system by a receiver that is only within the positional
signal range of one information module, for example because that
information module has collected the positional signal information
from the other information modules of the duct system that are
within the network. Thus, in certain embodiments it may be
preferable for any one information module to be within the
positional signal range of at least four other information modules,
e.g., with two on either side, to enable continued transmission of
positional signals along the information module network even where
one information module becomes inoperable and requires replacement
or maintenance and is bypassed by the network.
[0027] In more sophisticated embodiments of the system, the
information modules may further be configured to emit duct
properties signals including information regarding at least one of:
i) the condition of the duct, and ii) the contents of the duct. The
information module may be configured with its own sensor(s) to
detect such duct properties information or may simply receive such
information from independent sensor apparatus(es). Information
regarding the condition of the duct may relate to the integrity of
the duct, the history of information exchange with receivers of the
duct system, the features of the duct including valves or circuitry
in proximity thereto, or other properties and characteristics.
Information regarding the contents of the duct may include
volumetric flow rate, pressure, electrical properties or
performance information, or other properties or
characteristics.
[0028] The duct system of the present inventive concept thus
provides means for collecting information regarding the position of
its constituent duct and/or duct sections and, optionally,
regarding the condition and/or operation of the duct sections and
their contents. This information can be mapped for ease of location
and maintenance.
[0029] Having now described the features, discoveries and
principles of the general inventive concept, the manner in which
the general inventive concept is constructed and used, the
characteristics of the construction, and advantageous, new and
useful results obtained; the new and useful structures, devices,
tools, elements, arrangements, parts and combinations, are set
forth in the appended claims.
[0030] It is also to be understood that the following claims are
intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the
general inventive concept herein described, and all statements of
the scope of the general inventive concept which, as a matter of
language, might be said to fall therebetween.
* * * * *